This wikiHow teaches you how to resolve an error in Microsoft Word that displays a message that Word cannot perform a certain action because of an open dialog box. This form of error is usually caused by a corrupt Word add-in or security settings that are too strong.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using the Keyboard to Search for Dialog Boxes
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Step 1. Click OK on the error message
If you see a message saying that Word couldn't complete the action because a dialog box is still open, but you don't see the box, you can find it via a keyboard shortcut.
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Step 2. Press Alt+Tab
A series of windows that are open on the computer will be displayed. You may see the next window that opens next to the Word window, which may be the problematic dialog box.
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Step 3. Press Alt+Tab again until you find the dialog box that opens
If the dialog box is hidden behind another open window, you can find it this way.
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Step 4. Click Close or OK.
You may need to click several buttons to close different dialog boxes, such as “ Cancel ”, “ No ", or " Yes ”.
Method 2 of 3: Disabling Add-ons
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Step 1. Run Word in safe mode
If you see a message indicating that Word couldn't complete the action because a dialog box is open, but you don't see the box, one of the plug-ins in Word might be triggering the error. Start troubleshooting by opening Word in safe mode:
- Close the Word window if it is still open.
- Press Win+R to open the “Run” dialog box.
- Type Winword /safe and press Enter.
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Step 2. Try to recreate the problem
Do the thing that triggered the error message again. If you no longer see the error message, the crash may be due to a problematic add-on.
If the error still appears, try another method
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Step 3. Disable add-ons
Follow these steps to turn off the add-on:
- Click the menu " File ”.
- Choose " Options ”.
- Click " Add-ins ”.
- Click " Go ” in the Manage section.
- Uncheck the first add-on. Uncheck only the first add-on as each add-on needs to be tested separately.
- Click " OK ”.
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Step 4. Close and reopen Microsoft Word
Restart Word as usual (by clicking the “Start” menu), and not in safe mode. Word will restart with all add-ons, except for the plug-ins you previously turned off.
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Step 5. Try to recreate the problem
Again, do the thing that previously triggered the error message.
- If the error no longer appears, the add-on that you turned off is most likely the cause of the problem.
- If the error persists, plug-ins that are turned off are not the source of the problem.
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Step 6. Turn off other add-ons
Go back to the add-ons list and uncheck the other add-ons. You can also tick add-ons that were previously turned off so that they can be used again.
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Step 7. Repeat the testing process until you find the plug-in with the problem
Once you find the add-on that's causing the error, you can remove it or turn it off permanently.
Method 3 of 3: Disabling Protected View
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Step 1. Open Microsoft Word
If you want to open a document downloaded from the internet (eg from a web browser, email, or messaging app), you may see an error message like this: Word can't do this because a dialog box is open. Please close the dialog box to continue.″ Errors like this often occur due to security settings. Start by opening Word directly from the “Start” menu. You can find it in the “ Microsoft Office " in the segment " All Apps ”.
- Do not try this method unless you are sure that the document you are trying to open is a safe file.
- Deactivating the protected view makes the computer vulnerable to viruses so be aware of these risks when following this method.
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Step 2. Click the File menu
It's in the top-left corner of the screen.
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Step 3. Click Options
This option is at the bottom of the menu.
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Step 4. Click Trust Center
It's on the left side of the window.
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Step 5. Click Trust Center Settings
It's in the lower-left corner of the right pane.
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Step 6. Click Protected View
This option is on the left. You can see three settings with checkboxes.
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Step 7. Uncheck the first box
This box is marked by the text Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet.″
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Step 8. Click OK
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Step 9. Close Microsoft Word
After turning off protected view, you can double-click a document downloaded from the internet (or an email inbox) and open it without any problems.